Pain, swelling, and aches in your lower body make it harder to perform activities like walking and running, which are often taken for granted. Having arthritis in your feet and ankles can sadly make these symptoms regular problems.
When you have the autoimmune skin condition called psoriasis, you can develop a form of arthritis called psoriatic arthritis and experience uncomfortable swelling all over your body, including in your feet.
Podiatrists Thomas Rambacher, DPM, FACFAS, FAPWCA, and Amber O’Connor, DPM, of Podiatry Hotline Foot & Ankle in Mission Viejo, California, explain how psoriatic arthritis impacts your feet and what you can do about it.
Psoriasis is an autoimmune skin condition that causes your skin to break out in patches of scaly and inflamed areas. If you have psoriasis, you’re at risk for developing psoriatic arthritis, a type of arthritis.
Psoriatic arthritis, like other types of arthritis, causes swelling and pain throughout your joints. It’s an autoimmune condition that tends to cause symptoms in areas where you’re experiencing psoriasis outbreaks.
Most people who develop psoriatic arthritis have psoriasis, but it’s possible to develop it without any preexisting conditions.
Psoriatic arthritis is particularly damaging to your feet and ankles. When not well-controlled, you can experience the following problems.
Dactylitis, or sausage digits, can occur in fingers or toes but is more common in the toes. Your toes become uncomfortably swollen and start to resemble sausages.
It’s one of the most common symptoms of psoriatic arthritis. Sausage toes can be uncomfortable and make it hard to move.
Pain and swelling are particularly common on the bottom of your foot, heel, and Achilles tendon. This comes from irritation to your enthesis, which is where your bone connects to tendons and ligaments.
You can get pain in any of your foot or ankle joints when you have psoriatic arthritis. The worst offenders include your toe joints, which can also be at risk of partial or complete dislocation in severe cases.
Sometimes, your toenails develop indentations that cause them to appear pitted or dented. You can also experience thicker nails or have some of your toenails detach from the nailbed.
Over time, if your psoriatic arthritis gets worse, you can also develop problems like shortened toes, joint immobility, and bone spurs and deformation.
Psoriatic arthritis can range from mild to severe. For mild to moderate cases, conservative treatments are effective for many people in managing outbreaks and keeping them less frequent and under control.
At home, you can manage your symptoms by icing or putting heat on the impacted areas, taking over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (ibuprofen), and taking good care of your toenails and feet. Lifestyle changes that can help include losing excess weight and doing low-impact exercise.
If you have more frequent problems or your symptoms aren’t well-controlled by home care, our team can also prescribe medication, refer you to physical therapy, and give corticosteroid injections. For more severe cases where your mobility is badly damaged, surgery and innovative stem cell therapies are also available that restore your joints.
With regular podiatry care, it’s easier to control psoriatic arthritis and keep the condition under control. Contact us for ongoing care and assistance with psoriatic arthritis.
